ClassNK granted its ‘AFVC (Additional Fire-Fighting measures for Vehicle Carrier)’ notations to ‘CERULEAN ACE,’ an LNG-fuelled car carrier operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and managed by MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd., for vessels equipped with additional firefighting measures for transporting electric vehicles (EVs).
It is the first vessel in the ClassNK registry to receive the ‘AFVC’ notations, and it marks the world's first case of a shipping company's voluntary and customised approach to the safe maritime transport of EVs being recognised through a notation.
Addressing EV fires
To support these efforts, ClassNK has issued the 'Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Electric Vehicles'
Shipping companies are implementing various measures to address EV fires, which raise concerns due to difficulties in extinguishing and the risk of re-ignition. To support these efforts, ClassNK has issued the 'Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Electric Vehicles'.
These guidelines explain the characteristics of EV fires and guide how to respond, while also setting out five types of ‘AFVC’ notations according to various safety measures.
CERULEAN ACE
ClassNK confirmed that the ‘CERULEAN ACE’ meets the requirements for three of these five notations: FD (Fire Detection), FF (Fire Fighting), and EFF (Enhanced Fixed Fire-extinguishing System) and affixed these notations accordingly.
For the FD notation, it was recognised that installing a system that sends an alarm to the crewmember onboard and to the onshore ship management company when the artificial intelligence detects an abnormality in the images captured by the camera leads to earlier identification of fire on cargo.
ClassNK is committed to contributing to the safe transportation of EVs by establishing and conducting appropriate standards and evaluations.